Maintenance, general, housing and space management of Buffalo in summer in semi arid-zone (India)

Maintenance, general, housing and space management of Buffalo in summer in semi arid-zone (India)

Awadhesh Kishore, and Rakhi Sharma*

Sarvoday Mahavidyalay, Chaumuhan-281406, Mathura INDIA
*Institute for Development of Technology for Rural Advancement, Mathura-281004 INDIA

Summary:

In the month of May and June, owners of buffalo need to keep some specific attention to make their stock comfortable. The animals should be sheltered in a cool, shadowy and properly ventilated places and not be allowed to move freely during sunny hours to protect them against Loo and brighter sun shine. It will be better and comfortable if the roof of the shelter is covered with thatch. the fountains or sprinklers should be used to make environment cool. The buffalo needs at least twice bath a day in the summer. The floor of the buffalo shed should be clean and comfortable the animals. The site selection to construct a new buffalo shed should be carefully made. A female buffalo requires 25-35 square feet covered area and 80-100 open area.

Key words:

Buffalo, Heeding of buffalo, Housing Systems, Housing, India, Management, Semi-arid Zone, Space Management, Summer.

Objective:

The objective of present article is to collect scientific information regarding maintenance (general, housing management, space management) of Buffalo in Summer.

Introduction:

In the month of May and June the period of noon is too much sunny and hot and painful. Only some relief is observe when day ends but the evening is again comparatively warm. In such weather the owners of buffalo need to keep some specific attention in their mind to make their stock comfortable. Cleanliness and management of animals and their shed provides protection against various diseases.

General management:

The first thing which is important to consider is that the buffaloes should not be allowed to move freely during sunny hours because they need protection against Loo (warm air storms) and brighter sun shine but they should be sheltered in cool and shadowy places. The buffalo shed should be so ventilated that the polluted air can directly diffused out side and Clean and fresh air can enter in it. It will be better and comfortable if the roof of the shelter is covered with thatch. The proper vegetation should be managed in surroundings so that the environment may be cool and fresh and Loo could not enter directly in the shed. Regular use of fountains or sprinklers in summer is recommended to make the environment cool. The buffalo needs at least twice bath a day in the summer.

Housing Management:

The floor of the buffalo shed should be clean and comfortable the animals. It is so designed that it can be cleaned at any time easily but it is also to consider that the cost of buffalo shed or management of buffalo shed should not be high.

The site selection to construct a new buffalo shed should be carefully made. The site should have free and fresh air and sufficient natural light. Sweet and fresh water and electricity and proper drainage system should also be available at the site. The site should be on connecting roods to avail better transportation facilities but away from the main roads to keep the buffalo farm free from the noise pollution and disadvantages. A large buffalo shed should be established at a open area away from the population and industrial surroundings. Two types to buffalo houses are commonly used in our country.

Conventional housing system:

In this type of housing system all the animals are tied near to each other. They receive their feed and milk on the same place. If the number of the animals is below 16 they can be tied in the single row. In case if they more than that, they can be tied in two rows. In this system their tails are in the direction towards to each other. The removal of feces, urine and other waste material routed from same way but the feed from two separate ways. The system requires 2.25 square meters space per animal. The path between two rows needs 1.50 m. width and the path to mangers 0.90 m.

Loose housing system:

In this type housing system the animals are let loose in the shed. They can move freely here. The buffaloes are transferred to milk shed and tied only for milking. The shed is covered with a fence as high as 2 m. The mangers are constructed on the boundary so that the feed can be offered from outside the shed. The water tough is situated in the centre of the shed and each every animal has a free access to water as per need and desire.

Space management:

It is very much important to maintain buffalo shelter management of high grade to earn profits. The buffalo house should have adequate space so that the animals can be sheltered comfortably. The sufficient light and fresh air must always be assessed in the buffalo house. The animal shed must be clean and uninterrupted free access to fresh water should always be available to each animal. The specification of total space requirements of buffaloes are as follows:

Space requirement for female buffalo:

Covered area 25-35 square feet, Open area 80-100 square feet and Length of mangers 20-24 inches.

Space requirement for Calves: covered area 15-20 square feet, Open area 50-60 square feet and Length of mangers 15-20 inches.

Space requirement for pregnant buffalo: covered area 100-120 square feet, Open area 180-200 square feet and Length of mangers 24-30 inches.

Acknowledgement:

Partial financial assistance received from Institute for Development of Technology for Rural Advancement (IDTRA), Mathura (India) is duly acknowledged.

Dedication:

The article is dedicated to all the people living in the rural area of the country and workers engaged in their advancement.